Tag: History

I’m never fessin, possessin the tools that it takes to rock
I think it’s time for the new kid on the block
With a style that’s wild yet so unique
I can’t be stopped from reachin my peak

-Kid on “Kid vs Play (The Battle)”

As I’m writing this I was wondering the other day what was I doing a year ago? I remember that I was embarking on my journey of still working at the big red machine and the stress of Christmas was hindering on me. I was always a second floor person and working with my buddies always seemed more important than actually working. I clearly remember my one time friend Malcolm X was training this guy in the Christmas section named Mark and he seemed pretty decent yet I wasn’t too sure what I thought of him. I remember we were fixing up the store and it was pretty trashed yet I was still intent on working to keep it looking sharp. I also remember being pretty stressed about some assignments that were to be due the following week. I had to do a 10 minute speech in Psychology of adjustment, had 2 papers due in History and I was also had my Psych final the following Tuesday. I knew I had always had a distinct awareness of how much I enjoyed school yet I think the stress I created had a lot to do with how I imagined others would view me. I wanted to do well in everything I did and I was afraid that not only would I fail miserably but I would be letting down everybody that cared about me. I tried my best to manage everything so that I wouldn’t have to do everything at once and what ended up happening was both hilarious and eye revealing. Over the next few days I started writing my first paper on “Coming of Age in Mississippi” and I started getting more and more confident as the writing of the paper continued yet I still had the thought in the back of my head that my speech on “Just Friends” that monday would bomb. A few days prior to the actual speech I had no real plan on what I would say because I had to give a summary of the book and the strong points of the book itself. I had no powerpoint which I thought would just be a waste of time and I had no desire to show my book through slides and pictures. I also was nervously waiting whether my friend who had just quit the Machine would ever come back or was it just an illusion to make me think he was my friend? I tried my best to stay in touch with him but I thought at the time he was adjusting to his new job and he was striving to stay on the right path. Anyway, I also remember the Thursday before finals week my last class with John Gravener consisted of him giving us a low down on what was to be expected for the final. He wanted us to write ANOTHER paper which blew my mind because I couldn’t believe how many papers I had to write. It was take home and it was due the next friday which I found fine but I was stressing having to believe that I now had to write a total of three papers in the span of one week! So, now I had a full workload and I also felt I had to this for myself as well. For me, staying busy is the number one goal people should strive for yet there is room for relaxation when everything is dealt with. I also remember my brother telling me that Sunday that we should take our dog Paloma to get her yearly shots for Rabbies and what not. I was in complete awe of what was ahead of me for the next week but I prepared myself like a beast. I thought the best way to do the essay on the Anne Moudy Mississippi book that I had to read it before hand and I could half ass it either. So, I finished reading the book then I began writing the essay which wasn’t easy but it wasn’t difficult either. I wrote every word like I meant as I learned from there that you have to write every word with pride. I also planned something foolish as well which was to prepare my speech for Monday and know what I was going to say then do my Cold War paper the next day Tuesday. The preparation of the speech was the most challenging one because I had no idea how Dr.Ward would respond to my speech as I knew she had must have been exhausted from watching a great deal of speeches about a different variety of books. So, what I did was I had gone through the chapters the week before jotting down notes on what was important and how that it is related to the field of Psychology. I knew I should have done it while I was still reading the book but it worked out fine. Then came sunday which was one of my favorite days from last year. That day was special because not only did the Raiders come back that day and handle the Steelers a loss, but I saw my dog get her shots and got to see her interact with other dogs and that is always a treat because she rarely gets to do that. That day, I also got to close electronics which due to Anele, I was given the chance to show my skills and how I would handle it. I was proud of myself that day because I worked my ass off and I was ready the next day for my speech as I had done my best to at least memorize some parts of it and when I got home that night I looked at key parts once again and I started repeating them to myself. I remember I had just that class that day and I dawned my Arizona jeans with my anchor blue sweater and I got a haircut that my classmate Matt applauded me for. I felt nervous but when I got up there I felt comfortable and ready to speak. As soon as the first words popped out of my mouth, I was rolling and that had to be the most challenging part of that week because I couldn’t bear standing there and speaking but I ended up doing very well and getting a 115/120 total. My other papers seemed to be a breeze and I couldn’t put my finger on it but when I finished that finals week I felt I had done well enough to say that I’m doing well in life. I told myself after that, no matter what happens, this had to be one of the best things that could have happened to me. It’s always good to remember these old memories so if you ever find yourself in stressful situations, don’t put yourself down, if you keep getting knocked down, try again and you’ll be fine.